My Story
by Fire The Canon
Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts for the first time in 22 years to share his story, but not everyone is pleased to see him. Written for the Bizarre Holiday Challenge by Taragh McCarthy.


_**Note: This fic is written for the "Bizarre Holiday Challenge" by Taragh McCarthy. My 'bizarre holiday' was International Read Me Week with three prompts: finally, share and dream. I tried to make this slightly humorous and fun to read. It is not meant to be serious.**_

_**I hope you enjoy and if you favourite the story, please give a review also! I really appreciate it. Thanks.**_

_**I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.**_

**My Story**

Hogwarts didn't really celebrate any holidays other than the normal ones such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween and so on, so the students were a bit shocked when the headmaster announced that for the next four days, the school would be participating in Read Me Week.

"Read Me Week," he began after dinner one night, "will begin tomorrow. I have noticed that your enthusiasm for reading has recently...decreased. The next four days will involve the whole school participating in activities which will encourage you to read."

A loud groan spread across the Great Hall. They had better things to do than read.

"I am not reading _Hogwarts, A History_," one boy on the Hufflepuff table called out to much laughter from the other students.

The headmaster went on, ignoring the comment.

"Books are wonderful and can enlighten us with so much knowledge. I have even asked a special guest reader to come to the school and take some time out to read his story to you."

Silence filled the Great Hall in anticipation as to who that might be.

"Harry Potter," came the answer.

The whole school gasped as one.

"Harry Potter?" "_The_ Harry Potter?" "No way!"

"That's my dad!" one girl whispered to her friends. "He never told me this," she then added grumpily.

All of a sudden, the solemness that had been there moments ago was now filled with excitement. The most famous wizard of all time was coming to their school. The only known wizard to have ever survived the killing curse...more than once.

OOO

Harry looked at the calendar as he dressed. February 21, day one of Read Me Week. He was quite excited to be going back to Hogwarts for the first time since the Battle, yet also very nervous.

He pulled out the book that had been with him for over two decades. It was his story; he had written it himself. Of course, many people had bought it just after the Battle, determined to read how he had survived Lord Voldemort more than once, but he doubted how many of the current Hogwarts students had read it. Finally, he was going to get the chance to share it with them.

As he was combing his hair so it was neatly in place and owl flew through the window, landing neatly on his bed. He recognised it instantly has his daughter, Lily's owl.

_Dad,_

_Why did you not tell me you were coming to Hogwarts? Do you know what it is like for me right now? All the questions, all the attention...you know I hate them asking me about you. Some warning would have been nice. James is loving it, of course. _

_Please don't come!_

_Lily_

Harry sighed. It was too late now. The headmaster had already told the school.

Pulling out a quill and parchment, Harry wrote a quick reply and sent the owl on its way. Lily would get it before he arrived.

The Floo Network wasn't generally connected to Hogwarts, but the headmaster had allowed for Harry to travel that way. It would be the quickest and easiest form of transport, as well as keep the media at bay for a little while longer.

Ever since the Battle had ended twenty-two years ago, Harry had found himself on the front page of the _Daily Prophet_ at least once a week for one reason or another.

'Harry Potter finally defeats You-Know-Who once and for all', 'Harry Potter marries in dream wedding', 'Potter welcomes first child', 'Harry and Ginny: divorced?' and the most recent one: 'Harry Potter's new romance?' with a big picture of him and Draco Malfoy stealing the front cover.

When those editions came around, Harry felt as if the _Prophet_ had turned in to some kind of Muggle gossip magazine. Who cared who he was dating?

With a heavy sigh, he chucked his book in to his backpack and made his way in to the living room he and Draco shared. Draco was dressed in his finest robes, ready to accompany him to the school. Neither had returned since leaving after the Battle.

Like Harry, Draco had received a lot of attention in the past twenty-two years, but for all the wrong reasons. His family had come from a long line of dark wizards and it was hard to escape that image. Imagine the shock in the wizarding world when the two of them had ended their marriages and started living together. _Enemies become lovers_, was what they had said.

"You ready?" Draco asked affectionately.

Harry nodded. He went to stand by the fireplace of their small, secluded cottage with Draco beside him, holding his hand tightly. It was comforting to know that he was going to be there to face everyone as well.

They vanished into the fireplace together, landing moments later in the office Harry knew only too well. There had been many times in his own Hogwarts days he had sat in that office with the then headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. It felt like a lifetime ago now.

The current headmaster greeted them with a smile. He was younger than Dumbledore had been, but they seemed to share the same, kind smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr Potter," he said enthusiastically, reaching out his hand.

Harry shook it. "Call me Harry," he said.

The headmaster then turned to Draco. "And it's nice to meet you too, Mr Malfoy," he extended his hand for Draco as well.

Harry didn't realise instantly, but after all the introductions were done, he saw that his three children, as well as Draco's son, Scorpius were all present.

James, Albus and Scorpius all grinned, but Lily remained seated, her arms folded and barely acknowledging their presence. She had been the one to take his and Ginny's divorce the hardest.

"The school is buzzing with the knowledge you are coming," the headmaster said, trying to break the tension. "Over night, it seems the majority of the students have managed to get a hold of your book. They have been reading it in classes all day. _Harry Potter has finally returned to Hogwarts!_"

Over in the corner, Lily made a noise of irritation. James gave her a scathing look, before grinning at his dad.

"Well, _I'm_ happy to see you," he said.

Satisfied that everything was in order, the headmaster led Harry from his office, with the four kids trailing behind.

As it was to be expected, passing one student in the corridors meant that the rumour spread like fire. By the time he had reached the Great Hall, it seemed that half of Hogwarts already knew that he had arrived.

Most looked delighted as they filed in behind him, but some seemed concerned, or even frightened. Harry had no idea why.

Lily walked straight past, her arms crossed and didn't even acknowledge his existence. Harry felt a pang of sadness hit him. Ever since his and Ginny's separation, she had only come to see him twice.

It took a while for the headmaster to calm the school, but once they were silent, he introduced Harry and then gave him the spotlight.

_Day one_, Harry thought. _After this is over, only three more days to go!_

He looked into the sea of unfamiliar faces. It seemed like a lifetime ago, he had sat in the Hall, eating or doing last minute study with Ron and Hermione. He and Draco had hated each other then. So much had changed...

Looking to his right, he saw Draco sitting beside the headmaster. He gave him a reassuring smile, which made Harry feel more confident. This was his chance to tell his story.

"Um...hi," he began nervously. "I'm Harry and today your headmaster has asked me to read to you my book. I, er, hope you enjoy it." He sat down in the seat allocated an opened it up to page 115.

It was probably his favourite moment of his life.

"_I had probably never felt more afraid. I was eleven years old, alone and on a train that was apparently taking me to some school where I could learn magic. I had no idea what to expect, but I was also very excited. I was finally leaving my Muggle family; the ones who had treated me little better than a pet dog for eleven years._

"_Little did I know, the Hogwarts Express would play a really important part in my life. It was where I met my two very best friends-Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. In ways, we were all very similar, yet from completely different families._

"_Over the years, our friendship grew and we learnt to rely on each other more than any of us could have imagined. But if I hadn't sat in that compartment on my first day, I can't even begin to imagine how different my life might be right now..."_

Harry continued to read snippets from his book for the next hour. By the time the headmaster called an end to it, Harry felt rather disappointed. He knew the students had actually been interested. They were taking in every word he said, every sentence he read aloud.

Day two (February 22), rather than reading to the whole school, Harry read to different classes. To the Potions classes, he read about his 'eventful' experiences with the then Professor, Professor Snape. To the Defence Against the Dark Arts classes, he read about the things he learnt and about Dumbledore's Army. They seemed rather amused that Harry had taught other students Defence Against the Dark Arts in his fifth year.

Draco followed him around, supportive of everything he did. In fact, if Draco hadn't been there for moral support, there was a chance Harry would have left and gone home early.

It was Draco who would encourage Harry to get back there and continue.

On Day three, Harry developed more confidence. He read more to the school, choosing snippets from his life with the Dursleys. He told them how much he hated them, how they hated him and how Hogwarts became his home.

"_I don't know what I would have done without Hogwarts. It was my home for nine months of the year and I never wanted to leave. If I had been allowed to stay all year, I would have. The Dursleys were horrible people and they didn't want to associate themselves with a wizard. In fact, they didn't want to associate themselves with anything that was slightly out of the ordinary._

"_It seemed that the first eleven years of my life, every person in the wizarding world knew who I was...except for me._

"_I don't see my Muggle family anymore, except for an occasional visit to my cousin, Dudley. He bullied me, punched me and teased me all through childhood, but he came around eventually. I saved his life once and he thinks he owes me. He still isn't comfortable around magic, however. That was rubbed in to him by my Aunt and Uncle and it's there to stay."_

There was a loud snort from somewhere in the Hall. Harry looked up. It had come from the Gryffindor table and he suspected the culprit was Lily. The group of girls sitting around her were in a fit of silent giggles.

Harry wondered what she had told them. Lily wasn't exactly the friendliest with Dudley's family.

Draco gave him a warm smile and Harry continued.

After he had finished, many of the students had questions. Harry happily answered them, pleased that they were all so interested. His life at Hogwarts hadn't been easy. The constant fight and the constant fear of staying alive was something this generation didn't understand.

Hogwarts was nothing more than a school to learn magic these days.

OOO

On the fourth and final day of his visit to Hogwarts, Harry woke in the small room in Hogsmeade. Draco was already up and dressed, ready for the final day. He seemed so happy-something Harry didn't feel right now.

Spending so much time at the school brought back many feelings he hadn't felt for a very long time. This _had_ been his home for so long. It had been the only place he had felt accepted and even loved. The Dursleys had given him neither, back at Privet Drive.

But this was the final day. In a few hours, he would be landing in front of the fireplace in his own cottage. What was that, compared to Hogwarts?

"What are you going to tell them today?" Draco asked curiously, coming to sit on the end of the bed, his hand resting gently on Harry's.

"I was considering the chapter about life after the Battle," Harry answered.

"You mean, marrying Ginny Weasley and all that?" Draco asked, mock concern in his voice.

"No, just how it was difficult to get back to normal," Harry told him. "How it took some time for all of us to adjust to a new life without the fear of Voldemort returning."

Draco nodded slowly, thinking. There was silence for a moment or so, before he turned back to Harry and grinned. "Then we better get going!"

OOO

"You have no idea how much of a struggle it was before to get the students to pick up required books," the headmaster exclaimed an hour later in his office. "Now, they're reading everything they can get their hands on, including _Hogwarts, A History_."

Harry grinned at Draco. No one read that.

They left the headmaster's office and made their way in to the Great Hall again. Harry noticed the enthusiasm of the students was a lot higher than it had been on the first day. It was February 25-the last day of Read Me Week.

As he walked past the seated students, he noticed Lily sitting with her friends. She refused to look at him, but some of the other girls around her chanced a glance. They didn't seem as annoyed as she was.

Many of the kids also had his book in their laps. In fact, most of them did. He felt a great wave of pride was he walked to the front. He had been through so much in his life and it was a good feeling to finally be able to share that with the new generation of students.

He sat in the chair that was given to him by Neville. He turned to the chapter which started after the Battle. The Hall was silent, waiting for him to begin. This had been his plan all along; give the students an indication of what it was like after Lord Voldemort was gone.

But something changed. He looked up at Draco, who was also waiting. He had told them about Ron and Hermione and about some of the other students he had made friends with while at Hogwarts, but he hadn't mentioned Draco.

He turned the pages back to the chapter titled: "Enemy on the Inside", smiled at Draco and then began to read.

"_While I had friends at Hogwarts, I also had my enemies. There was one person in particular I couldn't stand to be around. Draco Malfoy!"_

There was a gasp and many heads turned in Draco's direction. Harry had expected this.

"_We didn't get along from the beginning. He thought he was better than Ron's pureblood family and he didn't have time for someone like Hermione-a Muggleborn. So naturally, I didn't like him either._

"_As we got older, our relationship got worse. There was definitely no love lost between us. There is really only one thing I can say about the Hogwarts days-I hated him._

"_Now that the Battle is over, I haven't seen, or heard from Malfoy since. He and his parent's vanished-in hiding, I suppose-to escape imprisonment. Although I never liked him, I am glad they have not been caught. There is something I haven't revealed to anyone yet-his mother saved my life._

"_Voldemort had unsuccessfully tried to kill me yet again, but his mother, Narcissa, told him I was dead when I was very much alive. She could have revealed I was still breathing and have Voldemort try to kill me again, but she didn't. I think about that moment almost every day. Yes, the Malfoy family were fighting for Lord Voldemort, but my life was saved because of them..."_

Harry continued to read the rest of the chapter to a silent school. His mind thought back to those days, where he had hated Draco's guts. Never, would either of them ever have thought they would be where they are now. Back at Hogwarts...together.

OOO

_**I have never given slash a go before and early on, I realised I couldn't write it (I'm a canon girl). So it is a very toned down kind of fic. I hope you lied it.**_


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